An outsider wanting in... (Houston, Dallas: transplants, rent, crime)

[silvad242]

I'm in SLC, and would LOVE to relocate me and my family to the Houston or Dallas area. I'm not getting any recruiters/employers contacting me. Is there a trick to getting them to contact you? Am I just going about this the wrong way? I'm a Java Software Developer with about 3 years of experience. Thanks.

[westsideteacher]

My husband is having a similar problem, except he's in accounting. The problem is that on your resume/job hunt profiles and everything, they see the out-of-area address, and automatically assume that he'll require relocation money, which is something we've been told employers are really cutting back on. (With so many in the job market, they'd rather pick someone they don't have to spend that money on.)

Even if you're willing to pay for your move yourself - like we are - employers have no way of knowing that. They just see the out-of-area address.

Fortunately, we have relatives in the area, and once we changed all his info to that local address, we now have many recruiters working for him.

My advice is, if you don't have anyone in the area whose address you can use, maybe get a PO Box in Houston, and have that forwarded to your house where you are. That way you have a local addy...

Hope this helps.

[desertsun41]

Once an employer sees an out of area job app they just file it in the trash can. It don't matter if you write in big bold letters that you will pay for your own relocation. Their attitude is we have thousands of our own unemployed right here in our own state, why hire outsiders. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying Texans are stuck up but you can understand where they are coming from.

Then there is another issue. Have ya heard? America is in a depression, the worst since 1928. There are no jobs. Texas has fared better then many states but still.....jobs are not growing on trees here either. And I suspect this is why you want to leave SLC because there are no jobs there either.

If you really want to move, here is what you do. Take a trip here and rent a PO Box in any Houston post office. Buy a throwaway phone just so you can get a local phone number. Now when you apply for jobs, whom ever is reading your app you will appear to actually live here. If they ask why you have no work history here, you say your wife was transferred here and you followed her here.

Don't expect miracles though. Keep in mind that there are hundreds if not thousands of people seeking the same job you want, and some have many many many more years experience then your 3 years.

[silvad242]

There are actually plenty of jobs in SLC. We're just sick of the cold, the higher cost of housing, and the culture here. I actually have a pretty good job and have had several offers from other companies after having interviewed with them. I just don't want to stay in Utah.

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by silvad242

There are actually plenty of jobs in SLC. We're just sick of the cold, the higher cost of housing, and the culture here. I actually have a pretty good job and have had several offers from other companies after having interviewed with them. I just don't want to stay in Utah.

So move to St. George. You have a desert climate where it hardly ever rains, never snows, you actually still see new homes going up because people from all over Utah are relocating there, and other then closing down the entire city on Sundays, it's a very beautiful little city. You can even commute to Cedar City with ease and there is work there too though they get some cold winters. From St George you can also do an easy commute to the casinos in Mesquite which is booming. Those casinos are always hiring and you will also see many new office buildings going up with companies relocating from the deeply depressed Las Vegas crime infested sheethole. Mesquite is really booming in these depression times.

[XodoX]

I'ts not and never was a depression. He said he's a Java Software Developer. I highly doubt casinos is the main source of employment for him...



Anyway, what they said... get a local address and phone number ( UPS store etc. ) No idea why, but it's jsut how they see/view out-of-region applicants. You shouldn't have any problems finding a job here in that field.

[mikehtown]

We are hiring and I look at resources from other markets all of the time. There's a reason why Houston is growing.

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by XodoX

I'ts not and never was a depression. He said he's a Java Software Developer. I highly doubt casinos is the main source of employment for him...



Anyway, what they said... get a local address and phone number ( UPS store etc. ) No idea why, but it's jsut how they see/view out-of-region applicants. You shouldn't have any problems finding a job here in that field.

Oh yea by every neutral source this country is in a depression. Of course your govt will not tell you that. Even if some one says that dirty filthy D word in their sleep this country's financial system would spiral out of control and never be repairable.

Yea you're probably right about his job VS casino employment. But the growing casino jobs are bringing in all kinds of new businesses. Mesquite is still a tiny sleepy desert town but is growing despite the depression. For the record, I don't feel Texas has experienced depression times. But only a fool would think places like Vegas, Pheonix, Miami, So Cal and Detroit is anything but a deep depression. Maybe you'd have to be there to witness what's going on there. Consider ourselves here lucky.

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by mikehtown

We are hiring and I look at resources from other markets all of the time. There's a reason why Houston is growing.

Honestly Mike, I don't see Houston growing. But I also don't see it dying as in the other areas of the USA as I mentioned in my last post. We are holding our own. If you can honestly point to any industry that is growing you certainly not mention the construction industry which has been devastated. Since I am in that industry I have my finger right on the dying pulse of it and the heart beat is getting weaker every day.

[mikehtown]

I have a microeconomic view based on my business interactions and neighborhood. I'm clearly not doing a study in my spare time. We certainly aren't exploding in Houston but I'm seeing slow growth while most cities are contracting.

The companies I work with here aren't doing as well as they were a couple of years ago, but they are profitable are expanding more than contracting at this point. I'm not working for construction companies, homebuilders, or retailers... those who are struggling aren't spending, but we are busy and growing.

In our neighborhood we continue to see new transplants and property values at least maintaining if not increasing.